Sewer or Septic?: When It Comes to Sewage, Most People Prefer …

Although shared sewers and private septic tanks each have environmental pros and cons, septic systems place the responsibility for proper installation, maintenance and use on the individual

DRAINING DECISION: Most people, given a choice, prefer to be on a municipal sewer system, as the burden of keeping it running smoothly falls on the local government. Proponents of septic systems say that a professionally designed, installed and maintained system should perform just fine. When homeowners don't take proper care of their septic systems, however, and wastewater is not properly treated, it can contaminate surface and groundwater and threaten public health. Pictured: A home septic system under construction. Image: Trish Thornton, courtesy Flickr

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Dear EarthTalk: Whats better for the local ecology, sewers or septic tanks? T. H., Darien, Conn.

You probably wont have much choice as to whether that home youre thinking of buying is on sewer or septic. Most likely its a done deal, unless the neighborhood is presently all on septic but is considering a petition to the town to switch to sewers (in which case you can usually agree to hook up or stay put).

There are pros and cons to each in regard to the environment. Both types of systems are designed to handle and treat so-called blackwater (wastewater from toilets) and graywater coming from our sinks, showers, dishwashers and laundry machines. On-site septic and community-wide sewer systems work in similar ways, utilizing micro-organisms to filter out bacteria, viruses and other disease-causing pathogens before releasing the cleansed water back into the environment.

In general, most people prefer to be on a shared sewer system if they have a choice, as the burden of keeping the system running smoothly falls on the local government, which presumably has the money and expertise to ensure that wastewater is properly treated across the region. Also, in a shared sewer system, wastewater is whisked away to a centralized treatment facility; anyone who has ever experienced a septic system backup on their property can appreciate what a benefit off-site wastewater treatment can be.

Another advantage to a shared sewer is that such systems are usually built to withstand heavy loads and can better accommodate periods of heavy precipitation or storm surges that might overwhelm smaller, poorly conceived or maintained home-based septic tanks, which are by virtue of their size and the laws of physics more prone to overflow and send contaminants into nearby surface and ground waters.

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Sewer or Septic?: When It Comes to Sewage, Most People Prefer ...